Why We're Expanding Our Push-to-Card Services on the PSP

How can you send money to someone instantly, any time of day or night, without needing their bank account number? You push funds directly to their debit card, over the same card networks you're using every time you swipe or tap to buy something.

We're expanding push-to-card at Modern Treasury, and it completes something bigger: with RTP, FedNow, and a newly revamped push-to-card offering, we give businesses the full suite of instant domestic payment rails in one API.

Rounding out instant payouts

Modern Treasury’s PSP already originates almost $10 million in RTP and FedNow volume daily, and RTP and FedNow are far and away the most popular payment rails across the businesses who use our platform. Why is that? Because real-time settlement lets cash move at the same speed as the business itself, so customers get paid and businesses keep operating without waiting on the rail to catch up.

RTP and FedNow require that the recipient’s bank must be on either the FedNow or the Clearing House network, which can be a limiting factor. Most consumers aren’t sure if their bank supports those rails, and will often not find out until a payment fails.

Push-to-card doesn’t have that dependency. Any debit card issued is in scope to receive funds, any time of the day or night, because it rides the card networks. All you need is a card number (the Personal Account Number or PAN), instead of routing and bank account numbers. That’s what makes it the widest-reach option in the instant lineup, even if it’s not always the biggest-dollar one (more on that later).

Built for moments where speed matters

Push-to-card is well suited for situations where recipients need immediate access to funds or don't want to share bank account information.

Common use cases include:

• Crypto offramp:
  • Exchanges, wallets, and stablecoin neobanks can let users convert crypto to fiat and withdraw straight to a debit card in minutes.
• Insurance claim payouts:
  • Claimants get funds right after a loss, without needing a bank account that’s confirmed to accept instant payments. For something like a car insurance claim, that can mean money in hand the same day the claim is approved.
• Earned wage access:
  • Employees can get instant access to their paycheck when they need it, regardless of who they bank with.
• Emergency assistance disbursements:
  • Utility assistance, rental assistance, and food assistance can all be delivered onto a debit card in the recipient’s name, which is critical for populations who need funds immediately.
• Peer-to-peer payments:
  • Instant payouts between individuals can reach virtually any debit card, even when the recipient’s bank isn’t set up for instant transfers.

A more flexible payments platform

When we set out to expand our push-to-card offering, we wanted it to feel like a natural extension of our existing API while still providing the infrastructure needed to handle sensitive card data. We introduced a new subdomain, vault.moderntreasury.com, along with an embedded Card object within our existing External Account object. Otherwise, the same payment order statuses, reconciliation workflows, and webhook events developers already rely on remain consistent.

That keeps us at one unified API spanning all three U.S. instant payment rails, where developers just match the rail to the payout: RTP or FedNow for bank-to-bank transfers up to $10M, and push-to-card for reaching virtually any U.S. debit card in seconds, all of which can move money 24/7/365.

Looking to the future

In the first phase of our expansion, we are adding push-to-card capabilities purely via our API. Down the line, we're extending the product with hosted iframe fields, so businesses can collect card data through a Modern Treasury-hosted form embedded in their own product. Our goal is to continue making it as easy as possible for businesses to build fast, frictionless payment rails on top of our PSP.

For more info about Modern Treasury’s PSP, visit moderntreasury.com/products/payments.